1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical caw capable of cutting a bone from the inside towards the outside thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
German patent DE 28 49 760 discloses an oscillating surgical saw comprising a saw blade mounted on the end of a shaft to make a cut in a plane perpendicular to the shaft. The shaft is driven by a motor and designed in combination with the cutting blade such that only low pressure acting in the direction of feed is needed. This type of saw is suited to cut bone material when the saw is applied to the bone from outside rather than the inside as contemplated by the present invention. The shaft including the saw blade is particularly short to facilitate an accurate guiding of the saw in particular with respect to the cutting depth. The cutting depth is visually controlled or adjusted by the surgeon.
As a visual control of the cutting operation is necessary and with respect to the short sawing shaft necessary for manual guidance, a sawing operation in the inner space of a hollow bone is not possible using this type of saw.
A saw designed to cut a bone from the inside out is discussed in an article entitled "Closed Intramedullary Shortening of the Femur" by Robert A. Winquist et al in Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, number 136, October 1978.